Saturday, August 30, 2008

I was stranded in the middle of the night


Are you ready to fall in love with a new band?

Yet again I owe a debt to television commercials - this time it was Kenmore Elite that introduced me to the Silver Seas, by using their lovely "Imaginary Girl" in one of their ads. I instantly had to have their first album, High Society.

At times evoking the 70s baroque classic rock-ism of Poco, the intricate surf harmonies of the Beach Boys, the lush-pop wail of Rufus Wainwright and the quirky complexities of Ben Folds Five, this album goes by too quickly and begs for multiple listens. (You know I can't resist a band that makes heavy use of a 12-string guitar.)

Highlights include the unstoppably happy "Country Life," the Wainwright-esque "Imaginary Girl" and the layered harmonies of the sonically perfect "Hard Luck Tom," which, coming in at just 1:51, may be the shortest piece of pop perfection ever recorded. Listen to two of the three on the band's MySpace page.

Or, if you prefer, you can watch the band (formerly known as The Bees) recording "Country Life" in the studio:

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